


Lost | Minecraft Reader Insert

by ElizabethMunson



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: 1.16 The Nether Update (Minecraft), 1.17 Caves & Cliffs Update (Minecraft), Creeper, Gen, Minecraft, Phantom - Freeform, Platonic Relationships, Reader-Insert, Realism, Survival Horror, Temporary Amnesia, The Nether (Minecraft), Wilderness Survival, Zombie, skeleton, villager - Freeform, �realistic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 20,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29262864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizabethMunson/pseuds/ElizabethMunson
Summary: You tripped over a root, falling to the ground with a yelp, but you did not stop moving, scrambling to get up. The arrow was right in front of you. You fell to the ground again, grabbing a hold of the arrow, and you yanked it out of the ground, clumsily nocking in into the arrow. Still laying on the ground, you turned to face their direction and pointed the bow, your trembling hands struggling to aim. You pulled back. You just hoped you were going to strike right. And you let go.------Minecraft is a game full of wonder. It is limitless in terms of what you can do. The only thing that could stop you, is your own creativity. Other than that, it is also full of mystery. You can memorize every single crafting recipe, every command and master the skill of building giant castles, but you can never know what the origin of this odd world is. What is The End? What are Endermen? What is the story behind the ancient ruins you can find? Where are the others? The only civilization is almost alien-like villagers, and blue-skinned pillagers. So, how did you come to exist in the world? This story explores most of these things, with a little spin on it.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

Everything was muffled. All noise became only that annoying buzz in your ears, accompanied by the even thumps of your heart, and your vision being blurred. Your muscles tensed to the point where it hurt. You felt cold, as if you only just now managed to swim to the surface of a freezing river. Yet you felt at peace. Something at the back of your mind told you that it was okay. That you were safe, and nothing would hurt you. You knew you were moving, but you felt out of control of your actions. Yet you still found yourself able to smile, your lips curling up into something wonderful. Something that showed how happy you were to be alive, to experience the joy of waking up every morning and being able to say, "I know who I am.", how content you were with your life, yet still determined to live it to its fullest. Something that was able to express how glad you were to be there.

"-ou alright?"

You blinked, your vision finally gaining focus as you lost your dreamy smile. Something inside you stirred, and you took a deep breath, and with that, you felt yourself regain the ability to move on your own. You gazed down at your hands, seeing that what you held in them was a broom, and you connected the dots. You were sweeping the tiled floor, and now you've been awakened from your thoughts by the one who stood before you, her usually cheery smile now thin, and her eyes worried. 

It took you a minute to realize where you were, and what she was asking about. 

"I-I... Yeah, I'm fine," You spoke sincerely, wiping off the stream of tears coming from your glazed-over eyes, "I'm just... glad to be here."

Molly's once thin smile soon turned into a gentle, reassuring smile. You had barely the time to react when she playfully connected her fist with your upper arm, and snorted, "Geez, you're out here making my life harder."  
Now it was your turn to snort, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You started crying outta nowhere! Whadda think?" She shook her head, "Anyway, our shift's over, bud."

You glanced at the clock hanging on the wall behind Molly, and it really was. 11 PM, you read. You wondered how have you not registered the time passing by. 

"Jack's already booked it, lucky bastard. We should go too."

It took you a bit of time to clean up the place a little more, after all, sweeping wasn't the only thing you had to do, and you changed into your regular clothing. You stepped out into the dark and watched as Molly turned all the lights off in the restaurant, and promptly stepped out as well, locking the glass doors. You inhaled the fresh air, and realized just how quiet it was at night, and now it was especially quiet, the only companions you had were Molly, and the moon. You felt the tension in the air, the one before it was about to rain. Dark clouds were already invading the night sky. 

"Great," You glanced at Molly, she was gazing up at the clouds with a frown, "I don't have an umbrella."  
You only nodded in acknowledgment. You didn't either. 

"Looks like we're just gonna have t' walk home soaked, aye?" Your friend shrugged, wrapping an arm around your shoulder, "You be safe, okay?"

"It's just rain," You rolled your eyes, though you held a smile, "I'm gonna be fine, Moles."

"Moles? Is that supposed to be a nick- Ah, whatever. See ya tomorrow." She pat you on the shoulder with a chuckle, already heading her way into the vast nothingness, well, at least that's what it looked like, as you couldn't see much in the dark. You waved in return, and when she was out of your view, you looked back up at the restaurant, seeing the large sign that read, "Pan n' Cakes". You owned the restaurant with Molly. You both dreamed of it ever since you first met in Highschool, and now it was one of the most favorite local restaurants. It was you who came up with the name, it was originally just something you blurted out one day, and it became what you were looking at now. It filled you with a sense of pride. 

A howl. 

You perked up, a gasp escaping your lips as you frantically looked around. But all you saw was nothing, only darkness and a flickering light in the distance.


	2. A Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now.... it begins.

The cold breeze enveloped you in an uninviting embrace, its long, slim hands caressing your burning cheeks, playing with your hair that stuck to your body, wet with sweat. Your breathing was rapid, your chest rising up and down quickly. Your head throbbed, as if you were just waking up after a long night at a bar. Though no matter what you did, you couldn't confirm if that was indeed what you were doing. You were sweating profusely, yet you were cold, your whole body ached and begged for relief. You felt sick, and all you wished for was to just go back to sleep. However, something felt odd. You didn't feel like yourself. You felt empty. No matter how long you tried, you couldn't remember anything that happened yesterday, nor the day before. You remembered nothing. It was as if you were just born today, but with the intelligence and awareness of an adult. In a way, it felt refreshing. But you knew that was not supposed to be happening.

Whenever you did try to remember, you'd only get sick and be forced to stop. That was not supposed to be like that.

Something was wrong.

And you weren't in a hospital, you knew that much. What you were laying on was hard, uncomfortable. You were freezing. It was so quiet, expect for the quiet rustling of leaves all around you, and a distant river.

You slowly opened your unfocused eyes. Everything was blurred and doubled. It was dark, only tiny pinpricks of light amongst that darkness. When you shifted your eyes just a bit down, you could see shapes, swaying from side to side, almost synchronized. It felt strange to look at. All you saw was alien shapes you did not recognize, nor were you able to as long as you were sick. 

The rustling of leaves became louder, and different. The quiet rustling was still there, almost like a melody, and this loud rustling was like a tone-deaf student, wanting to join in. Your survival instincts took over, ignoring any kind of pain, or sickness you might have felt, and you sat up faster than the speed of light. You regretted it, as a wave of nausea washed over you. You kept sitting upright, however, focusing on the source of the unpleasant sound. The bush. It shook violently, some leaves falling in the process. You almost thought the bush'd come to life, and devour you whole. 

As you desperately tried to think of what to do, your body decided to move on its own, scrambling to get up with the last of its strength, and run the opposite direction of the angry bush. But before you could even initiate step two, you collapsed to your knees. Your head spun, your stomach twisted in a bunch of knots. And you heaved, throwing up everything you might've eaten before you got to wherever you were now. You trembled like a leaf in the wind, color drained from your face. Panic overtook you. Not only did the rustling become louder, you were too weak to run. You couldn't even think straight. All you could do was stand there on all fours over your own vomit, and wait for the intruder to come and tear you into pieces. You almost wished for it to just be a harmless bunny, like you'd see in movies. 

But when you gained enough strength to at least glance behind you, what you saw was definitely not a bunny. 

It stepped into the moonlight with surprising calmness, as opposed to the aggressive rustling of the bush. It stood, its majestic stature towering over your kneeling form. Gray fur shined in the moonlight, obviously well taken care of, not a hint of dirt anywhere. It was smooth and long. You stared into its big, yellow eyes. You saw an intelligent creature in them, it was wise and serene. 

But you still stared at it in horror, too weak to even gasp. You knew what was coming, even with the foggy mind of yours. You were prey to it. You were a prey too easy to kill, weak and defenseless. You couldn't run, couldn't scream, but you could feed a whole pack. Well, depending on how big the pack was. You didn't want to find out.

It began to gingerly walk closer to you, elegantly taking one step at a time, its head lowered, and you were met with sudden familiarity. You've seen it before, but you had no idea when. It was just like looking at a picture you might've never seen before, but you get the feeling you did. And that scared you. You shuddered, getting goosebumps all over your body. And with that, you got a rush of adrenaline. It forced you to stand up, despite your whole body begging for you not to. You turned to face the wolf, who's head was up again, and its eyes watched your every move, and you watched its. You started to back away from it, stepping over your former meal in the process. 

You stared at each other for what felt like hours, along with you steadily increasing the distance between you two. Your knees trembled, but you continued to move, determined to get away from the canine. 

Your eyes widened then. All you saw was something swish right past you, managing to scratch your cheek in the process, and then all you heard was something getting stuck in a tree nearby. You couldn't help but gasp, ceasing all movement. You felt warmth slither down your cheek, and you instantly knew that whatever just flew past you was supposed to harm you.

And you turned around. What your eyes met with was something you couldn't comprehend at first. It all looked like a pile of nonsense. Then it clicked, and you realized; what you've laid your eyes upon was an actual human skeleton, its tall figure towering over you easily. Its long fingers curled around a bow aimed right at you. As it stared at you with its eye sockets, its teeth grinned at you, almost as if teasing you. The quiver on its body contained at least thirty five arrows, one of which was currently being pulled out by the abomination before you. You felt horror wash over you, feeling the strong urge to look away, but you just couldn't. You could not process what was happening in front of you. It wasn't supposed to be moving. It wasn't supposed to be standing upright. It was supposed to be buried six feet underground, not stand, six feet in front of you. 

You gaped at it, despite the obvious danger. You were fully aware that you were about to get shot. The skeleton nocked the arrow, taking its sweet time to do so. It knew you were frozen to the spot. It knew you weren't going to run away, even though you oh so desperately wanted to. And it pulled back.

Loud thunder then echoed throughout the entire forest, forcing you both to freeze completely. You almost looked up to see if there were any clouds, but then you realized. That wasn't thunder.  
The reaction of the skeleton said it all. The skeleton panicked, pointing the arrow right next to you so fast it almost dropped it, and it let go of the arrow. You heard the arrow cut through the air with surprising speed. But instead of hearing a yelp, you only registered the sound of the arrow getting stuck in the ground. And then, a growl, similar to the thunder, only quieter.

You forced yourself to turn around, trusting the skeleton enough to not kill you, as you knew it was too occupied by nocking another arrow to aim at the dog once more. And you almost stumbled back from shock when your eyes landed on the gray blur that ran right in your direction with incredible speed. The rattling of bones behind you got louder, and you saw another arrow swish past you, going straight for the wolf.

You reached a hand out towards the wolf instinctively, crying out, "No!"

But the wolf didn't bat an eye. Just as the arrow was about to hit it, the wolf jumped over it, landing just a few feet away, and it jumped again, aiming at the skeleton.

You watched as the wolf tackled the skeleton to the ground, gnawing viciously at its leg, growling and panting. The skeleton threw its precious bow at the dog, but it only bounced off its head and right to your feet. Then it resorted to kicking, trying to get it off. You only vaguely registered the skeleton hand reaching for an arrow to stab the wolf with.

And suddenly, you were free to move on your own accord. Wasting no time, you grabbed the bow, stumbling back when you stood back up and you ran the opposite direction. The arrow that got stuck in the ground not too far back. It could save you both.

You glanced back as you ran, seeing that the skeleton was about to strike. The wolf already managed to tear its leg off, moving onto its left arm, unfortunately the one that did not hold the arrow. You had to act fast.

You tripped over a root, falling to the ground with a yelp, but you did not stop moving, scrambling to get up. The arrow was right in front of you. You fell to the ground again, grabbing a hold of the arrow, and you yanked it out of the ground, clumsily nocking in into the arrow. Still laying on the ground, you turned to face their direction and pointed the bow, your trembling hands struggling to aim. You pulled back. You just hoped you were going to strike right. And you let go.

You closed your eyes as it flew, cutting through the air like a knife through paper. Crunch.

You slowly opened your eyes.

Your arrow managed to hit the skeleton right in its eye socket, successfully cracking its skull and therefore, eliminating it. Its head fell back, as well as its arm that let go of the arrow. With a large sigh, you dropped the bow, your head falling back in a similar manner, worsening your headache. You felt the adrenaline wear off, and you were suddenly hit with the realization of how much everything hurt. You could barely move a muscle. Deciding it'd be best for you to just rest for a bit, you closed your eyes. 

You felt something wet and spongy slide against your cheek, and you opened them again, alert. However all you saw was the dog, its tongue sticking out from its mouth as it peered down at you. The both of you stared at each other in silence, you being lost in thought. Processing whatever just happened was beyond you. You couldn't wrap your head around it. It was so eerie, so terrifying. You had honestly thought you were looking at some strange painting for a second there. But it was very much real, and that was the part you didn't understand. How did it work? How did it move, or think, or... why was it wielding a bow, of all things? 

Where were you? In a forest, of course. But how did you get there? Did you get especially drunk, and now suffer from alcohol-related dementia? If so, how long have you been wandering around these woods? You didn't want to think too much about it, as it was scaring you, but you had to know. Who were you, exactly?

Maybe you weren't that far away from where you lived. Someone would, maybe, recognize you, and you'd go from there. But to do that, you'd have to get up first. Despite your body's protests, you forced yourself to sit up, groaning. Just that was already exhausting, but you'd soon have time to rest. Hopefully. You only just now realized how dangerous it was to be in this forest. If there were more of those.. things, maybe it would be better to run and face with pain now than stay and face pain that of unimaginable levels. So you, with great effort, stood up, slightly swaying from side to side. Your head spun even from such slight movement, but you only had to wait for everything to settle down, and you took a deep breath. 

The wolf nuzzled your hand, and you peered down at it. You knew you saw it before. Those eyes, you'd recognize them anywhere, even with memory loss. You just.. couldn't figure out where. Maybe it was one of the many keys to your past. You two were obviously supposed to be together, and despite the slight twinge of fear you felt whenever you looked at the canine, something told you a wolfy companion wouldn't hurt.

It bend down, carefully picking up the long-range weapon between its teeth. It then straightened back up, looking up at you. You understood what it wanted you to do, and you accepted the bow. You knew nothing about bows, nor how to work with one. Whatever happened just a couple of minutes ago was most likely sheer luck and adrenaline. But it was the only thing you could protect yourself with. Your eyes shifted from the weapon in your hands to the skeleton on the ground. You needed the quiver. 

As you stared at it for what felt like days, you found that there wasn't anything that allowed it to move without muscle, heart or brain. It was just a skeleton. One that you'd see at school, in some biology class. It had scratches and cracks all over its bones, no doubt from previous fights. 

Inhaling the fresh air, you took your first step towards it, half expecting it to come back to life; it wouldn't surprise you anymore. Then another, and another all the way until you were standing right next to its body. It hadn't moved at all. You almost began to wonder if you hallucinated all of that, but then again, how would it get there? 

It was a lot heavier than you expected when you slowly raised its upper body. It was about the same weight as you, maybe. 

Snatching the quiver, almost causing most of the arrows to fall out, you dropped the skeleton and backed away. As you did so, you noticed the leg of the skeleton not too far away. A silly idea came to your head, and you paused. Gingerly, you went to pick it up, scrunching up your nose in disgust and disbelief that you were actually touching it, and you turned to face the dog. It sat on the ground, sticking its tongue out at you as it panted. You hesitantly looked back down at the bone in your hands, your expression softening. Then you tossed the leg to the dog, who appreciatively started gnawing on it once more.


	3. A River of Emotion

The forest seemed peaceful as you walked through it. The occasional rustling of leaves, and the snapping of twigs startled you, but you soon wrote it off as some sort of animal. Wolf, as you began to call him (You never were good with names, that is one thing you knew), didn't seem to mind, which was all the reassurance you needed. What scared you the most was how you couldn't see most anything, the dark shadows looming over the entire forest making sure you wouldn't be able to make it out so easily. And it seemed like no one touched this forest in a long time, if ever. You'd look around, but there was no empty bottles lying around, no glass shards, anything. Now, that wasn't a bad thing, but it gave you the impression that.. maybe you weren't as close to wherever you came from as you hoped. You had no doubt the forest'd be like a giant junkyard otherwise, you didn't see yourself living in a secluded area. 

You had the luck of not running into more of those freaks of nature. You weren't sure if you'd be able to hit any more of them. But on the other hand, you hadn't run into anyone so far. Just emptiness and silence, aside from Wolf's never ending panting. It unnerved you.

You'd take breaks only a few times, stopping to let your legs rest, and try to process everything bit by bit. Something at the back of your mind just couldn't believe what happened. A part of you almost convinced you it was all a dream, but then you'd look down at yourself and be brought back to the realization that it was all real. 

The sun began to rise already, making you wonder how long have you been there, aimlessly wandering around. The positive thing about it was that now you could see, and determine which way you were going: east. But that was about it. It wasn't helpful otherwise. It didn't feed you, nor vaporize your thirst. But it did feel good. It was cold at night. 

During your pointless journey, you had the time to look at yourself a bit more. As you did so, you came to the realization that you actually didn't remember how you even looked like. All you knew was you must've looked very disheveled, your hair most likely tangled and dirty from all that dirt you rolled in around while you were unconscious. And you were covered in bruises and scrapes, probably from all that falling down earlier. The scratch on your cheek has stopped bleeding, but it still hurt whenever you touched it. It probably could use cleaning, but you had no water to do so. You decided to leave it for now, instead focusing on your path. 

It took a while, but you soon neared the edge of the forest, seeing the empty hills ahead. You knew you should have been a bit more happier, but instead you felt a twinge of disappointment. Wherever you were, you were nowhere near a town, nor a city. Just a vast landscape. Any hope of you finding a way to get back to who and where you were vanished, instead being replaced by.. surprising emptiness. You could've felt sadder, but seeing that there was no real chance of finding out about yourself anymore, you just decided to accept it, for now. You weren't going to give up, but you knew that you needed to focus on surviving first.

Taking your first step onto the meadow, followed by Wolf, you took a look around first. Flowers covered the whole ground. Butterflies of all kinds flew around. But most importantly, there was a river nearby, settled in between two hills. It wasn't all that wide, you could jump across if you really tried in fact, but from the looks of it, quite deep. At least that's what you assumed, you couldn't see the bottom of it, not very clearly at least. As you neared it, actually quite eagerly, as your thirst got the better of you, you spotted some salmon swimming around. From the corner of your eye, you could see Wolf lick his snout. You couldn't help but pet his fluffy head, and with that, you two arrived at the edge. Kneeling down, your hands formed a cup of sorts and you brought some of the water to your face. The river could've been dirty, but at that point, you didn't really care all that much. You gulped down the liquid, only now realizing just how dry your throat was. Repeating the process a few more times, you finally felt just a little bit more satisfied. 

Next to you, Wolf laid down, curiously eyeing you with his beady eyes. After what felt like a long time, you finally took a deep, calming breath of the fresh air. Looking around, you realized just how relaxing this meadow was, especially after such a wild night. The sky was bright and blue, only a few white clouds covering it, and the sun shone bright in all its glory, its warmth feeling like a healing touch to your wounds. The calming trickling of the water, even the rustling of grass in the breeze. 

You looked down at the reflection in the water. It showed a stranger. The skin color, and the expression checked out, as you both were frowning. You knew it showed your appearance, but all you saw was someone you did not recognize. Someone you were seeing for the first time of your life. Where was your reflection? This wasn't you. Was it?

With a heavy heart, you began rise back up, when you paused. Your wounds needed cleaning, and frankly, so did your restless soul. How you wished to take a nice, hot bath. This river was nowhere near hot. But it was water, and you just wanted to relax for now. Wolf looked up at you expectantly, as if knowing you weren't going to continue any further, not yet anyway. Your hand reached up to grip at the strap of your quiver, you subconsciously smiled. With a quick motion, the quiver was taken off of your back, and dropped to the ground. Your shirt followed, and then your pants and shoes. 

Deciding to leave your undergarments on, in case you needed to take a quick leave, you began to descend down into the water, starting with your toes, and then your foot, and soon you were neck deep in the river. It was quite deep, you couldn't reach the bottom. It almost made you nervous, but then you realized that so far, the only threat was salmon swimming around you. Your tense muscles relaxed, your eyes closing, and you let yourself be floated up by the water itself. Wolf stayed in place, making no move to join you. Though he watched you, as at peace as you were. 

But even then. Something didn't feel right. Just a moment ago, you felt the fish swim around your body, curiously eyeing you. But all the movement you felt was gone, just the water gently swaying remained. You were about to open your eyes.

Something cold and musty grasped at your leg, pulling you down to the depths of the river. You gasped, your eyes shooting open as you began to trash around to no avail. Wolf rose up to his feet, a deep growl coming from his throat, and his snout turned into a snarl. Water splashed around as you desperately tried to keep yourself up, and kick off whatever was trying to drown you. 

But as you grew more and more tired, the attacker pulled you more and more deeper, soon succeeding in getting your head under water too. You barely had the time to take a deep breath. Now you couldn't resist the urge to look down. But the thing your eyes met with, it made you regret such a foolish move. You stared into another pair of bug eyes. They were cold, just like the hand that was firmly gripping at your leg. So lifeless, the only emotion being the thirst for blood. The creature was humanoid, its blueish skin rotting from its bones, moldy. The little hair it had was the thinnest hair you've ever seen, seaweed making up for it. Whatever teeth it had left were black and chipped. Its jaw was loose, making it appear as if it was always ready to gnaw at anything that'd make contact with its mouth. The clothes it wore, those were torn and moldy from being in the water for too long. You had to stop yourself from screaming, wasting precious air. 

Using your other leg, you began to kick its hollow head, hoping it'd let go of you. But it kept on pulling you down, its eyes finally acquiring a new emotion, something sinister. This creature topped the skeleton in the forest. Nothing could beat whatever it was. 

It was dead set on keeping you in, no intention of letting go. It didn't seem to be worried about drowning itself, in fact, it looked to be right at home. But you weren't. You had to escape its grasp. The two of you were almost at the bottom. 

Your eyes frantically searched for a weapon of any sort, while desperately trying to avoid looking at the thing. Sand, seaweed, rocks, pebbles, rocks.. rocks. So many rocks. Wait. Rocks.

Instead of trying to swim up, you swam down, deciding to make the creature's undead life easier for a moment. It didn't seem to mind, nor did it figure out what you were trying to do. Instead, it now began to pull you closer to itself, its jaw dropping somehow even lower as if ready to devour you. You ignored the two hands on your leg, instead snatching the nearest, sharpest rock you could find. You were running out of air.

With a quick motion, you were able to hit the drowned's head hard enough to at least make it let go. It pulled away, startled, letting go of your leg with both of its hands in the process. 

Then you heard a splash. You couldn't see much through the sudden wave of bubbles that appeared in front of you. However they soon cleared out. You were forever thankful for what you saw next. 

Your friend dove into the water, a fierce look in his eyes. His ears were pressed back, and he had the most terrifying snarl. His body now shielded you from the creature, determined to protect you with all its might. Without wasting any more time, you began to swim up. Your vision steadily darkened, your lungs beginning to burn, desperate for air. You pressed on, a fierce look of your own in your own, wide eyes. 

You found yourself climbing up the hill, panting and coughing up water. Collapsing, you heaved, but nothing came out. You repeated the process, until your body tired itself out, and you were able to calm yourself. Your foggy mind began to clear out, and all you could think about was Wolf. You left him there, when he himself came to save you. Before you could even sit up, however, the canine clawed itself back up from the water, soaked. In between his teeth, he held the creature's arm. There was no blood, nothing. Just the rotten flesh. 

Your vision blurred, and you sniffed. The warm tears trickled down your cheeks as you simply continued to lay there, exhausted once again. Nothing about this was right. None of this should be happening. 

The wet ball of fur nuzzled your hand, having already spat out the drowned's arm. He whined, his ears pressing back. You sniffed again, sitting upright. You didn't look at him, but your hand pat his head for comfort, and to show appreciation. What would you do without him?

Soon, you stood up, pulling on your clothes in a hurry. You had no intentions of staying anywhere near that river anymore. As soon as you were able to pull the quiver over your head and grab the bow, you ran. Wolf followed you closely. You had no idea where you were heading, just like from the very start. You just wanted to get out.

You've ran for a long time. Only stopping for a quick breath. You were starving. Now it was afternoon, and you've ran quite a long distance from that river. Still no town in sight, nothing. Were you the only human here? Was everything only out to get you? You still had no idea where you came from, let alone your name. And whenever you tried to remember, you'd only get nauseous. You were scared. You ceased your aimless running at last, staring off into the distance, by now having ran out of tears. Your lungs burned, begging for air. You felt as if you were hit by a train, multiple times. Every inch of your body aching and refusing to go any further, forcing you to sit down. You brought your knees to your chest, your heart beating so fast you thought it'd jump right out of your chest. You didn't belong here. You knew it. This world was that of some fever dream, with hellish monsters lurking in the shadow, waiting to get their hands on you and rip your whole being to bits and pieces, and no one there to help you.

You had only yourself, hoping that you'd wake up soon, but you knew it wasn't coming. The sweet relief that'd wash over you as you'd sit up on your bed, drenched in sweat as you'd realize it was all only a nightmare, and you'd be able to return to your daily life, your whole life changed with you appreciating the ability to know your friends and family, your home. To know yourself. It wasn't coming. 

You stirred out of your thoughts, having realized that you were starting to tear up once more. Soft, fluffy fur brushed against your ankle, and from the corner of your eye, you saw your wolfy companion rest his head on the ground next to you, his loving yellow eyes gazing up at you, almost as if asking you, "What now?"

What now. Now, you had to survive everything else that this nightmare prepared for you, and pray to the Gods of this world that you will find your way home.


	4. Doubts

It seemed like any kind of life has been wiped from the face of the earth. The trees around you only calmly swaying back and forth, like a synchronized dance. Not even the birds sang, their enthusiastic chirps scarcely occurring. As you strolled around, your companion following in your footsteps, something inside of you couldn't stop thinking about the fact that this dog has been in your life for longer than you could remember. Unable to help but wonder, how exactly the wolf knew you. And, what were the odds you'd meet again, in a seemingly unexplored, entirely new world? 

It just felt strange. The fact that you met a random wolf that just so happened to remember you before an actual human that recognized you was questionable. But then again, you seemed to question everything these past few hours, from your very own name all the way to how you'll end up. 

But, back to the topic at hand. The reason for as to why you'd always feel the sudden jolt of the heart whenever you'd look at Wolf's seemingly trustworthy eyes was still a mystery to you, but you felt deeply unsettled by it. Just because you didn't remember didn't mean you shouldn't wonder about such things. If something.. less than pleasant happened, and you were now willingly walking side by side with the cause of the aforementioned unpleasantness, it would result in poor consequences. It was only understandable you'd feel uncomfortable, when you were at your most vulnerable state, lacking any sort of recollection and thus being easily influenced and fooled. 

Of course, a wolf probably wouldn't have enough intellect, or enough malevolent thoughts for such actions. This whole time, Wolf only tried to protect you, taking on the form of a white, four-legged knight. All in all, you were overthinking it all once again, coming up with less than laughable situations your cheerful friend would not be able to cause, even if it'd want to.

But the dog was quite intelligent, wasn't he? His animal instincts would often get in the way, along with his natural, doggy goofiness, but there was no denying the fact that his eyes held some level of wisdom. Putting aside all that strange timidity that'd constantly haunt you just by catching a glimpse of them, you did have to admit. You couldn't help but admire them. Admire Wolf. 

Perhaps a little step back to recall all that's happened with you and him ever since you met him, or at least ever since you woke up, would help you form a better, more accurate opinion of him.

When you woke up, he was the first living being you've encountered since then. From that point on, he's accompanied you, and helped you out of unfortunate predicaments. Unless you were missing something, there was no malice in that. 

Whatever caused Wolf's immense loyalty to you, at least as that's what it looked like, he was willing to sacrifice himself for you from the very beginning, launching at the skeleton from the forest with little to no hesitation, unfazed even when his life was about to be ended. Or back at the river. That part still seemed fresh, whenever you'd think back at it, you'd find yourself back in the water, almost as if forgetting how to breathe. And just like before, Wolf'd come to the rescue, leading you back into the real world, away from the whirpool of unpleasant memories. 

There wasn't anything malicious about him. He was just a sweet, loving furball of joy. Then why, why couldn't you still bring yourself to trust him more?

For now, you've decided it didn't matter. You've gotten a chance to forget about it, at least until you'd regain your memories, if ever. And you were not going to pass it up by continuing to live in fear of something you did not know of. He was your only friend, after all.

You bend down, obtaining a stick from the ground. Your eyes gazed up ahead, observing the trees around. As close as they were, you trusted him to not plummet into any of them, and with a loud exclaim ("Fetch!"), you threw the stick. He gladly went after it.

Nothing bad about him, at all.


	5. False Sense of Security

You couldn't have thrown the stick that far, you thought as you tried your best to avoid any tree in your way. But Wolf must've thought otherwise. As soon as the stick flew in the air, and you let out that one word, he began running, but he never stopped. He kept going and going, while you struggled to catch up to him, shouting at him to stop, and yet, nothing. 

It seemed as though you've ran for an hour, though it's been only a couple of minutes. You were lost in thought and still it felt like time has slowed down, the only thing you could focus on was just a simple and yet terrifying thought; Wolf was leaving you.

"Wait!"

Just as you were starting to believe he was your friend, he left you, standing there in shock as the realization hit you. He wasn't loyal. The only reason he took down that skeleton was because he's a dog, those love bones. He fought off that drowned because it posed a threat to him, not you. He couldn't have cared less about you.

Now you were going to be all alone. Without anyone else. Without yourself. You were going to die, as an empty shell of the one you used to be, with no one there to comfort you. It seemed like he was the only one not out to get you and now? Not even he was on your side.

"Please..."

You could only slow down.

You watched his silvery tail disappear in the green, coming to a stop. There goes one last piece of yourself. 

Tears blurred your vision, but you preferred it to be like that. Whatever was lurking out there now, you didn't want to see it. It'd just be out to get you, that is all you need to know. All alone in a world you didn't recognize, you'd die.

Taking a deep breath of the much needed air, you began to turn around.

But, something didn't let you leave. Something inside you, something deep down that.. it knew what you've just told yourself, those were lies. Just meaningless words, void of any actual sense. Thoughts, coming from the deepest, darkest pit of your brain that only tries to deceive you and rob you of any hope. To delude you into thinking that you're on your own. It was as if you still felt his presence.

You didn't realize you turned around, and reached out your hand to force your way through the thick bush. Your heart stopped beating, even for a second, when a pair of golden eyes stared back into your own. He really was just waiting for you. And you were immediately diving into doubt. 

You let a bit more tears fall down your cheeks, before you wiped them off with the dirty sleeve of yours, and you gave him a pat on the head with a sincere smile. It was only then when you realized where he had led you.

Your eyes fell on the watchtower, it wasn't far. Its tall structure consisted of mainly some sort of dark wood and cobblestone, some of it covered in moss. Despite that, you could see people clad in all sorts of clothing, from dark robes to a simple red-plaid shirt. 

All forgotten, your legs began to move on their own. Your mind began to race, finally, civilization!

They could tell you what this place really was. They could help you get back home. Finally, you wouldn't have to suffer the endless days of horrors. Without even thinking straight, you began to sprint towards the nearest one, the one dressed in a long onyx black robe, golden neck binding complimenting its color. 

Just as you opened your mouth to explain yourself, fresh tears rolling down your cheeks once again, the ground under you rumbled, and you were forced to a halt as you finally began to take in details of the man, no, men.

You frowned, their smoke-ish skin color puzzling you to a great extent. Each of them had fierce, narrowed eyes the color of an emerald, all focused on you now. That wasn't the only thing interesting, however. Most of them wielded weapons, all aimed at you. They consisted of crossbows and axes. The worst of all was the one in the robe, his hand raised high up in the air, as if he were declaring a war. He himself didn't have a weapon. But as the ground started to shake more and more, you soon realized, the weapon was under you. 

You managed to dive out of the way just a second before the creature rose from its slumber, its pale scales shining in the fleeing sun, just like its enormous fangs that longed for a bite of your flesh. And it wasn't just one of these things, there were at least five more, all beginning to surround you until you had no chance of escaping. It wasn't for long, fortunately, as they soon descended back into the ground. You found that actually quite unpleasant, as instead the only sort of a barrier that'd separate you from those oddly colored people was gone, and you were once again out in the open. 

With little to no hesitation, you reached for your bow, and with that, the men started their fire, and chaos began its reign over the field. As much as you needed help right now, you hoped Wolf would stay out of this. 

Barely dodging the many arrows that were sent at you like rain, plus the daggers hidden underground that occasionally came up to say hello, you let go of the string of your bow and your own arrow stabbed the axe-wielding maniac that came hurling at you right in his unprotected eye, forcing him to drop his weapon and kneel before you in excruciating pain. 

Not much thought given into his suffering, you snatched the heavy object and flung it at the nearest person to you, the man responsible for summoning such beasts. He didn't seem to be much of a fighting person, as he had reacted too late, and the sharp edge of the axe became stuck in his head. 

Shock engulfed most of his comrades, and you used that moment to sprint right into their tower. It wasn't necessarily a smart move on your part, but your head was currently too preoccupied on trying to get you to safety. 

As soon as you stepped inside, you slammed the one giant door that separated you from the outside shut and the nearest object you put your hands on got to be shoved in front of it to block the entrance. 

Their muffled, unintelligible shouts could still be somewhat heard, but you didn't pay any mind to them. You only slid down the cold cobblestone wall, taking deep breaths in an attempt to keep calm. But let's face it, you weren't calm in the first place.

Just, how do you always manage to get into these kinds of situations? Just when you think that- that there might be someone to help- to save you from the clutches of this world, it turns out to be a serial killer and his friends. Now you were truly alone, and those weren't just thoughts anymore. You really were. You sat alone on the chilling ground, desperately trying to process things, while Wolf was out there, worried sick and quite possibly being hunted down by these people too. You just wanted peace.


	6. A Plan to Escape

It had dawned on you just a couple of minutes later that you had just killed a man. He was trying to kill you first, of course. It was in self-defense! But, you killed him. You killed a living, breathing being, one of your own kind no less. At least, you thought they were human, but now you had your doubts about that too. In an act of panic, you flung the axe right into his head and fled. You couldn't believe yourself. His blood was all over your shirt, your pants. Your hands were dirty of the crime you just committed. But.. did it really matter? To you, it did. But would it matter to someone else? Them. His acquaintances. But would it matter at all? They were already trying to kill you, there wouldn't be much of a change in that. You'd die anyway, by their hands or someone else's. Even if you wouldn't, you'd be plagued by this immense guilt. You were just like these creatures. You were a monster.

You stood up, glanced at the stairs that led to who knows where. No point in stalling, you began to make your way upstairs, wary of any sudden movement. But there was nothing, quite literally. Just an empty room. Though there were large windows. Not wanting to be seen, you made your way around them while ducking, and before you stepped on the first step of the next stairs, you took a deep breath. You placed your hand on the wall, not to support yourself, it was just.. almost comforting. As you continued, crimson blood began staining the wall from your hand. Your other bloodied hand gripped at your bow. Your heart pounded at your racing thoughts that wondered what you'd find up there, what other horrors would come to try and claim your life today. 

But as you found yourself up at the very top of the watchtower, or, their post of some sort, more likely, nothing seemed to be happening. You were just standing, looking around your surroundings as if you were currently visiting your friend's house for the first time, if anything. You noticed the flags that were hung at the sides of the post, having the strange men's face on all of them. Then there was a chest. A small, ordinary chest, to which you reached out with your free hand. Cringing when the chest creaked as you lifted the top open, you peered inside. 

It was only then that you realized just how awfully hungry you were. You hadn't eaten a thing since you woke up. The little you drank from the river was the only thing that seemed to keep you going without any noticeable - to you - exhaustion. But now that your eyes landed on the perfectly good piece of bread you found in said chest, you almost hunched over when you finally noticed the horrible ache in your stomach that begged for food. With shaking hands, you snatched the bread from the chest and began stuffing it in your mouth, uncaring of the metallic taste that was mixed with the baked good as your hands were still dirty. You'd cry for the millionth time today, because even bread was heavenly to you at this point, but you held those in for later, wiping at your only slightly wet eyes with the sleeve of your shirt. 

Satisfied for now, you found something else inside, to which your mouth almost fell open. Carefully, as if you were holding something made out of porcelain, you lifted it up from the chest, inspecting it. Its green color shone bright, its cut smooth and immersive. You recognized it as an emerald. Nothing could surprise you anymore. This world can pull dragons and eldritch abominations on you now and you wouldn't bat an eye, because the idea of you finding something like an emerald in some random chest of some murderous people that seemed to be nothing more than bloodthirsty hunters was almost impossible, with your luck no less. You almost dropped the thing at the thought, almost bit yourself in order to try and find out if you fell asleep down on the cold ground. You had no idea what you'd do with it when there seemed to be no one in sight that would actually consider it a piece of luxury (aside from the men around the post, but they were trying to kill you), but you screamed at yourself to keep it, mentally of course. 

You shoved it into your pocket, and subtly glanced down at the axe, crossbow wielding maniacs. You were absolutely clueless as to how you'd get down. Jumping wasn't an option. It was too high, you'd probably break your legs and then what? Though it'd probably wouldn't matter anyway, something would sooner or later, regardless of what it was. But you should probably try to avoid it while you were still somewhat in control of the situation, so you pondered, looking around at all the men. They actually seemed to be in less of a panic now, casually standing around, unbothered by the intruder that was yourself wandering in their outpost. Maybe because they knew you'd have to get out sooner or later, and then, they would make sure not to miss you again. 

You sighed in exasperation. 

What were they doing, anyway? And.. where was Wolf? No matter how hard you looked, you couldn't catch even a glimpse of his silver fur. Though you've got a taste of how good of a hider he was today already, more by your own self-doubting fault than his innocent little run-off. He never did hide, really, but boy were you afraid you'd never find him again. In reality, he probably just thought he found someone to help you. Now he's alone, and probably scared, and blaming himself for bringing you here.

Why were you thinking of him as a person? He probably didn't know what guilt means, he was a dog. A wolf. Though you still felt guilty, for maybe making him feel guilty. 

You had to get down, but how? You still hadn't thought of an answer. You strained to hear what the men were saying to each other, but all you heard was gibberish. They were talking in some language you did not understand, nor knew of. Just another bizarre thing about these humanoid creatures. Eyes wandering around aimlessly, you started to think that you'd never get down. You'd be stuck here until you starved, or until they'd decide they've waited long enough and try to bash down the blocked door. 

Then one of them shouted something, and you looked down, partially scared he's seen you, partially curious as to what he was shouting about. Not soon after, you were shocked by the sudden wave of more of these men, all surrounding a giant, bulky man. You couldn't see many details, but there weren't any to see in the first place. Just a silvery, very stiffly walking man of a huge build, vines growing all over him. It wasn't an actual man, you deducted. Rather a... almost like a robot. Except.. not.. maybe..

Maybe a golem?

The men around the golem held heavy, thick chains that all were connected to one iron collar around it's neck. Despite the obvious strength the golem had, given its size and weight, it made no move to defend itself, rather complied to all of their nonsensical orders. It was captured, for whatever reason, from whatever place. Golems.. clay figures, brought to life by magic, designed to protect its creators. This one seemed to be made out of metal, but it was a golem nonetheless. It was a protector, which meant..


	7. Initiating Plan

You didn't know how intelligent giant metallic men were, but considering this was the only chance to escape provided to you, you stood up, backing away from the edge so they didn't see you. You had to think through it, and quickly. You didn't know where they were taking it, but as soon as they made it there, you could as well consider yourself dead. What should you do? It wasn't defending itself, just staring down as they led it. Was it active only around its creators? No.. no, was it just simply stupid? No! You growled at yourself, biting your nails as you fought against time. They had so many weapons. The only reason you managed to escape into this outpost was because you murdered that summoner. 

Wait. That's it. It's not defending itself because of the amount of them. Even with its strength, it'd suffer too much damage. If you were to distract at least a portion of them, they'd focus on you, and you'd give it a chance to break free and neutralize the rest of them. Sure, it'd be almost the same as charging in without the golem, but the golem increased your chance of surviving at the very least. So, how would you go about this? You'd have to gather enough people's attention to give the golem a big enough chance, but you didn't know how. What would they consider more important than something like that? Screaming wouldn't be enough. 

You still had the emerald, but while it must've had some value to them, it didn't seem to be very well guarded. Would it even be worth a try? You peeked over the edge once more, desperate to find anything of help to you. 

As your eyes searched frantically, they landed on one man in particular. He was too obvious to miss, and yet you almost did. The flag strapped to his back, towering over him, the same one that was all over this outpost. He carried himself so high and mighty that you wondered if he thought the whole world belonged to only him. There was no doubt about it, it was the captain of whoever these people were. If something were to happen to him, the hunters would freak out and focus on you. 

Deep breaths, you could do this. You had all the time in the world. Well, you didn't. But luckily for you, they paused for whatever reason, speaking gibberish to one another once more, giving you enough time to calm your shaking hands that were tightly clasped around the bow you held. Still no idea how to aim, you nocked an arrow and just hoped you'd at least startle all of them if the arrow landed close enough. You just begged yourself to not kill another man. The one before was already disposed of, it seemed. No, think of something else. 

Wolf was probably waiting for you, no, most definitely, and you were over here whining like a little baby. In this world, it was kill or be killed, apparently. And you weren't going to let yourself be killed. Not yet. Not now. Actually no, you just said you didn't want to kill him! Agh! Such a complicated thought process that you had! Just let go of the arrow already!

And you did. The world slowed down, your arrow slicing through air like a knife through melted butter. It whizzed past a few of the other men, who looked just as horrified as you did as you watched it hit the ground just an inch infront of the captain's foot. He froze, so did the others. For a second there, you thought your arrow stopped time, but then they all, even the golem, looked up at you. You almost felt like a little kid having a presentation in front of the whole class with how many eyes were staring at you. And that was when all hell broke loose, and they didn't wait for you to come down anymore. Some of them abandoned the golem, launching themselves right at the door with their axes.

Others simply aimed their crossbows at you, forcing you to back away from the edge as soon as you saw that. That oughta do it. Now you just hoped the golem got the memo. 

You heard the door downstairs be rammed against violently, hacked at with sharp axes. It didn't take them long, and you already heard their footsteps coming up the first flight of stairs. 

Your ears caught the sound of heavy, loud creaking of some rusty metal, and then a scream, along with a loud crunch. But you were too focused on pushing the chest towards the stairs so you could kick it down as soon as you saw the incoming men. 

That didn't take them long either, their emerald eyes narrowed as soon as they saw you, but widened as soon as they saw the chest that came hurling at them. It knocked a few down, but not for long. As shocked as they were, they were quick to recover and stand back up, quite literally throwing the chest off them and they started to make their way up. All you could do was a send an arrow their way. You weren't sure if you hit any of them, but if you did, he didn't even flinch. 

As they were coming up, you couldn't help but back away, realizing that this was in fact not a good idea. You had no way of escaping. You never thought that far! You were gonna die, die, die, only death awaited you, death, eternal blackness-

It happened too fast for your own liking. All you registered was the pain that occurred in your stomach, and then wind. You blinked, staring up at the outpost, a few of the hunters looking down with a sneer, down at you. You were falling. You came too close to the edge without even realizing it, and one of them kicked you off.


	8. Chapter 1 (?) - Your Friend

"Hey!"

A distant yell broke through the constant ringing of your ears, reaching out to you as if it were a guardian angel, coming to your rescue,

"Quit it, will ya??" 

Your bottom ached from the fall, but it didn't matter, as your blurry vision cleared out just in time to see her, a woman, clad in gray winter clothes. Though despite the grim colors, you saw a rainbow, one that came to brighten your day, to make it more colorful and fill in all the white and empty out the black. Her face was...

Blurry. And yet, you knew exactly what she felt, what her expression showed. Anger, disgust, as she came storming towards you and.. and two people. One was a man. His features were nonexistent to you, and yet you remembered exactly how he looked like, as much as that contradicted each other. Long, thin hair dyed black, though you knew well its original color was blond. His eyes were narrowed and blue. If it weren't for the hatred that you could see in them, you'd easily get lost in them if you stared for long enough, like in a blue, neverending ocean. A scoff on his face.

And the second, it was a man too. No, a woman, a short-haired woman. A brunette, her hair cut as short as could be without her looking bald. Her face was, by all means, masculine, you'd go even as far as to say she looked more masculine, even more intimidating than the man. You knew them, and yet you couldn't recall their names. All you knew was that they were bad. Bad to you.

"Quit it yourself. No one's interested in another whiny ass bitch," The man snapped, his attention directed at the woman. All she did was scowl in response, rolling her eyes as if that were nothing new.

"No one's interested in your daddy issues, either," The woman retorted, waving her hand around as if to shoo them both. They didn't budge, instead looking down at you.

All you could do was shrink into the snow you've been shoved in. You didn't know why you said them, but the words came out of your mouth before you could register them, "I'm sorry."

Pain in your side hit you like a truck, and the two left, either finally having grown tired of constantly picking on you, or for some reason intimidated by your savior. Neither mattered, you were just glad someone came. It didn't make the kick any less painful, though.

You sat there for a bit or perhaps you were lying down. You couldn't tell, your mind swirling with all sorts of thoughts. Who was the woman? Why did she come? She could've just gone past, and leave you there, to the two. Why didn't you defend yourself? Again? Why are you so weak and pathetic all the time? Can't you do anything right? Why is everything against you?

She wasn't. Was she?

She didn't leave, like everyone else. She helped, and stayed, right up until your suffering eased, and you could look up to see her smile. Oh, this was so cliché. But you didn't mind. Her smile was comforting, like watching the stars at night. Her smile was bright, despite what just happened. Gentle and reassuring. Despite the blurriness of her face, that one thing was the clearest thing you saw all day. You liked it.

"Hey. You okay?"

You nodded. A small, hesitant nod. But it seemed enough for her, as she only smiled further, offering you a gloved hand, "I'm --" the name was muffled, "This feels like some sort of a bad highschool tv-show, doesn't it?" she chuckled, and despite how much it hurt, you couldn't help but do so as well, gingerly accepting her hand with your own, cold and bare one.

Once you were on your feet again, still clutching your side, you sighed. Time to go now...

"But seriously. Freaking jerks," she shrugged, "I'd like to cook 'em alive. So, what's your name?"

Something fluttered in your heart. Something warm and pleasant. Was it her? Have you made a friend? Who was she, again?


	9. Plan Succesful... Maybe

It felt odd. Falling down, knowing that the only thing that awaited you was a few broken bones. An immense amount of pain. Even death. The time almost as if slowed down. The only thing that moved at normal speed was your eyes, they wandered around helplessly, desperately trying to take in everything, to memorize your final moments. Two thoughts stuck to you, spreading out throughout your mind and pushing out every other thought.

Where was Wolf? What did you just see?

You knew you didn't have enough time to think through it, as slow as the world seemed to be, you were still falling.

Sharp pain shot through your body and for a moment, you couldn't tell if you were dead, or if anything of yours was broken. In fact, you couldn't think at all. All you faintly knew of was that you fell on a hard surface, and you wanted the pain to go away. And it did, not much, but you were able to come back to your senses, and you slowly opened your eyes, squinting to see a bit better. Light. So you weren't dead. Or maybe there was light in the afterlife. Come to think of it, how did the afterlife look like? Did the afterlife have the same golems you were currently seeing in front of you? Wait, no, above you. The golem's eyes peered down at you, emotionless. 

You attempted to move, only to realize you were held in the golem's arms. So that is how you survived. It caught you. It was still painful, but you imagined it was way less painful than what you'd feel if it didn't. It quite possibly saved your life. 

You didn't realize you were staring up at it for a good few minutes with your mouth open until you heard a growl. 

Without any hesitation, you rolled off the golem's arms, landing hard on the ground with a grunt. It only worsened the pain in your back, on which you landed previously as well, but you didn't care. It was hard to get up, your whole body was trembling. Of course it was, you thought you were dead a few seconds prior, and it landed quite hard on the top of that (metal is still a bad surface to land on). If you weren't currently occupied by standing up and searching for Wolf, you'd probably throw up for what felt like the fifth time of your stay in this world. Not just because of that, but because of the numerous body parts and pools of blood all over that you chose to just ignore at this point, though the smell was awful. 

It didn't take you long and your own eyes stared right back into two yellow ones. Tears welling up in yours, you rushed over to the dog, sliding on your knees, scraping them, all the way over to him, and hugging him tightly. His fur was the most comforting thing you've touched today. It was soft and smooth and fluffy. He whined, worried. You didn't say anything, only pulling away, patting him on the head with a teary smile that faded away for a bit. You left smudges of blood all over his silvery pelt. 

"I'm sorry." You apologized, though you didn't know what for. You were exhausted, and not thinking clearly, but you felt as if he deserved that apology.

The creaking of metal caught your attention and you turned your head towards the golem. It already turned towards the forest, stoic, and making its way towards it. Maybe it was making its way back to its respectful village. Maybe.. that village would finally be the thing to help you. The golem didn't attack you, did it? It saved you, in fact. That meant that whoever made it wasn't bad, right? Honestly, you were just getting desperate. At least if you stuck to it, nothing bad would happen to you, considering its big, strong build. 

Glancing at Wolf, you nodded towards the golem and stood up, almost falling back from how fast you did. The golem didn't move fast, which was good. You had a feeling you wouldn't move very fast either this time. Taking a glance around the field, ignoring all of the gore around you, you found your bow which you have dropped at some point in your fall. Once you got your hands on it, you looked up, remembering the cause of your fall. 

The post seemed to be empty now. Of course, the other men were most likely inside, but it suddenly felt completely abandoned. You briefly wondered why they weren't attacking still when you realized that everything around you probably got the message across and that they didn't have a chance. Your grip on the bow tightened, and you turned around to follow the golem, Wolf trailing right behind you. Off to another, cruel adventure.

It got dark soon, and soon you weren't able to see anything but the metallic human-like figure in front of you and your doggy friend. It reminded you of your first time in the darkness of a forest. Of the skeleton your bow used to belong to, before you killed it with it. You still got goosebumps thinking back to that time. It was your first time seeing the horrors of this world, and it was still nowhere near all of it. You were actually starting to think that was the mildest thing you'd see. Nonetheless, you were terrified. You could have died in a matter of seconds, and still can. No matter how safe you think you are, there is always something bigger, something that can wipe your entire existence off the earth. 

And as important to remember that as it was, maybe you should focus on something else. Perhaps on what you saw before your "death". It was just a blur at this point. Nothing you could do to remember it, it hurt to remember anyway. You were getting a headache every time you'd try to. But something in you urged you to remember because you knew it was important.

There was a woman, right? Some girl, around your age.. no, how old were you back then?...

Back then...? Was it a-

You didn't hear the hissing, as you were too focused on your thoughts.

Now you couldn't focus at all. Your vision was blurry and everything seemed to be doubled, sometimes merging into a one, blurry picture and other times going back to being two. The faint whistling in your ear drilled into your head as you tried to regain your vision and the feeling in your body. Once you did, you realized that maybe you'd be rather off without feeling a thing. Your whole body burned as if it were thrown into a lava pool. You blinked once, then twice. Your eyes finally were able to comprehend the sight before them, though they were still more or less blurry from the tears that began to well up in them. But your mind was blurrier still, and as you agonizingly stood up, swaying from side to side, trembling, you saw the giant hole in the ground. You couldn't understand what happened. You were just walking and then- all you heard was Wolf suddenly barking, snapping you out of your thoughts, but it was too late. 

You remembered the world slowing down when you were falling. But this time, it was as if you were the only one slowed down as you glanced around at the speed of a snail, your mouth agape. Dirt was thrown everywhere, some smoke dissipating. Some smaller trees were fallen here and there. 

The body of the golem laid at the other side of the hole. It seemed to have sustained no major damage, but it was taking its time getting up. And your friend. He, Wolf, was blown away a few feet away from you. He lied still, but you could tell he was still breathing. His bloodied silver fur had another color now, black, from the smoke. Your eyes widened, and you painfully made your way to him, your mind racing with thousands and thousands of thoughts once again. 

What happened? Why couldn't you have a moment of peace? Were you just sentenced to suffer forever? Why did you deserve this? Why did he deserve this?

Only now you were noticing just how much your feet burned, not from the explosion but from the amount of running and walking for so many hours a day. Millions of tiny daggers stabbed at your feet with every step, but you didn't stop, kneeling beside the dog, gently patting him, desperate to get him to wake up but too worried to hurt him. It seemed as if everywhere you went, you brought bad luck with you. It wasn't fair.

What caused this? Was it some suicidal maniac with a knack for blowing things, especially people like you, up? Or... something worse, some monster? The thought that there existed even creatures that were living time-bombs horrified you. 

The dog's eyes fluttered open, and he let out a whine that put a cold, sharp dagger through your heart. You forced yourself to smile, to comfort him. At least he was still alive. But not for long if you didn't get out soon. The explosion was loud enough to shake the entire forest. If there were more things such as whatever it was, and more skeletons and water zombies, you'd be in trouble. More than you already were.

"I'm gonna pick you up." You whispered to him, and gently wrapped your arms around him, lifting him. He was big and heavy, and you were weak and exhausted, but you couldn't just leave him there. He never did that to you.

With your legs already struggling to keep up a single body, two bodies were nearly impossible to walk with now. You had to go, but it felt as if a single step would cause you to collapse. 

Then you felt arms around your body, and you were lifted into the air, and the arms of the giant golem. You stared up at him, Wolf lying on you. The golem held you like a mother would a baby and as embarrassing as that would be in any normal situation, right now, you were the most grateful person somewhat alive. With that, the golem began to make its way to wherever it came from, and suddenly, it didn't seem so slow.


	10. Peace

Frankly, you had no idea how long you had been traveling. It could be minutes, it could be hours. Could be days. You wouldn't know, for you've been asleep for the majority of the journey. Who could blame you? All this time, you've been walking and walking, starving and enduring countless of stressful situations. Never once have you stopped to refill your energy, not fully anyway. The piece of bread you have found was too little, as grateful as you were to have found it. You'd kill for another, though. At least Wolf seemed to be taking care of himself, he didn't seem to be any of those things. Well, not before the explosion, anyway.

You briefly wondered if wherever the golem was taking you would be just as dangerous as everything else, but it was too late for such thoughts. Too late to regret. 

Voices.

Muffled voices pulled you out of your restless sleep and your eyes fluttered open, your vision blurry. It took a moment for your eyes to adjust to the light. A couple of blinks and your vision cleared out, your eyes focusing on the one thing not too far away; a village.

You woke up faster seeing that than drinking coffee as you moved to sit up, but that soon proved to be rather difficult, as you were still in the golem's arms, with Wolf atop you. So instead you watched with wide eyes what was about to come, as villagers have already started to murmur about their lost protector and who it was in its arms.

You couldn't understand them; it was as if they spoke some entirely different language you never knew existed. Which was probable. You didn't know any of this world existed before. 

Only now you've started to notice how the village looked. It looked grim; several buildings seemed to have been destroyed by something unknown, perhaps by the thing back in the forest. As you took a closer look at a few of the men and women, even children, they seemed to have bruises and sloppily applied on bandages all over their bodies. They all looked terrified when they laid their eyes on you and you weren't sure if it was for you, or of you.

You zoned out for a second. 

You didn't know what you expected, honestly. Not a destroyed village with equally as destroyed villagers, though it should've been obvious to you, the golem was taken away from the village by the men. It only made sense that wouldn't be the only thing they'd take. 

But god, even with all of that, you felt the happiest you've ever been. You didn't have to fight for your life anymore. There wouldn't be any more monsters coming to take your soul, or gray men thirsting for blood. No more hunger and thirst, or exhaustion. You could finally relax.

You were getting ahead of yourself, though. You didn't know what these people'd do yet, they could help you as well as just throw you out back into the hell you've just come from; not really. You knew you were still in one, regardless of where you'd hide. 

Snapping back into reality, you breathed out as you stared at the man who dared to step closer, staring right back at you. From the apron he wore, you guessed he was a butcher. He had short, ash brown hair and a scruffy beard. The butcher seemed to be well-built. His brows furrowed, then he spoke. However, to you, it sounded like gibberish. You looked at him, a look of confusion evident on your face and you hugged Wolf closer, uncertain. He gave out a whimper but didn't move much more.

He turned to look at the other villagers, speaking some more unintelligible words to them. One woman spoke up, from the tone of her voice clearly displeased. Your throat clenched and your stomach churned. They wouldn't actually throw you out, would they?

You looked up at the golem, wondering if it'd put you back down any time soon. But the golem stared straight ahead as if it suddenly shut down. Right now, though, it was your only protection, somewhat, from whatever these people'd do to you if they decided you weren't worth their time. 

Flinching, you looked down at the rough hand that was placed on your upper arm, then up at the butcher who had the time to make his way up to you while you were contemplating. You felt your heartbeat even faster. 

Seeing as neither of you would understand each other, instead of talking he slowly reached for Wolf, making sure to make it obvious he wasn't going to hurt him. You hesitated, but one look at Wolf was all it took to convince you. You let go of the dog, the butcher lifting him in his arms soon after, gently. You felt a bit relieved when Wolf's weight was taken off you, but at the same time, you panicked for a moment. However, the butcher did nothing but take a step back. 

You watched as he motioned for you to get down from the golem's arms. That was when the quiet murmurs of the other villagers took place, causing your anxiety to grow even further. You complied, though. Despite the slight stumble once your feet hit the ground, you were able to keep yourself up. Your legs screamed at you to lay back down, but you refused, even though it was the only thing you wanted to do at the moment. 

The butcher took a few more steps back, as if telling you to follow him, then turned around, already making his way to wherever he was heading. You, having no other choice, took a deep breath in an attempt to calm your nerves. So far so good, right? With shaky steps, you began to follow him, each one painful but somehow rewarding, knowing you were still able to keep going even after everything that's happened. The crowd stepped to the side to make way for you and the butcher, however, when the butcher tried to continue, you watched him be grabbed by the shoulder by some sort of a farmer, judging by the straw hat. They exchanged a few words, the farmer sounding upset while the butcher neutral. 

They didn't like you, you knew. But you continued to follow when the farmer let go off the butcher. All eyes were on you as you walked past all these different people, each and every stare cold and uninviting. Your lips forming a small frown. One last glance back, you stared at the unmoving golem. Then, you looked forward.

He lead you to a two-story house. It looked fairly untouched, safe for a few cracks in the walls and climbing vines. Must've been one of the luckier ones. You two stood outside for a few seconds and you wondered what was about to happen when the door opened. There stood a young boy, looking to be around ten years old. He looked up at the butcher with a bright smile, then at Wolf, his smile wavering. Then at you. 

The boy let out a gasp and he took a step back into the house, mumbling something only the butcher could understand. The butcher, who you guessed was the boy's father now, shook his head simply, then entered. You followed hesitantly, the boy watching your every move with wide eyes, before closing the door behind you. 

You exhaled the air you didn't know you were holding during this entire ordeal. Hugging yourself with your bloodied hands, you watched as the butcher placed the dog on the wooden seat under the stairs, then looked around. The stairs and the seat being already mentioned, there wasn't anything much to this room. It was rather small, but not cramped, whether or now it was due to the lack of furniture or the fact it wasn't as small as a wardrobe. There was some sort of a stone counter, though. And you had a feeling that was where the butcher butchered. 

On the opposite side of the room, you could see another door. Through the tiny windows in the door, you could see the head of a black sheep. Your mouth watered at the sight of it, but you soon averted your eyes from it. It reminded you of how hungry you were. Your stomach growled nonetheless, though and the butcher looked up from checking Wolf, then looked at his son.

He said something, to which the boy reluctantly made his way up the stairs, never taking his eyes off you. You shifted uncomfortably but focused on Wolf. You prayed he'd be okay. Aside from the occasional whimper or two during the journey, he seemed to be. But you couldn't help but worry. He didn't move even once and you didn't know if it was due to major damage or just... something else. Exhaustion, or something. 

The butcher seemed to have noticed your concerned expression, as he stood up. He opened his mouth to say something, before realizing you'd have no idea what it'd be. He paused for a moment, before giving you a thumbs up.

A weight was lifted from your heart. The man was no veterinarian, obviously, but he would probably know more than you. He lived in this world for much longer than you, he'd probably judge what was wrong better, even though explosions are all the same no matter what caused it, except for the severity of them of course.

You sighed, relieved, then put the palm of your hand on your forehead, as if you were expecting a headache any moment now. 

The butcher waved at you to come closer, then gestured at the seat, giving you a small, reassuring smile, to which you obeyed and slowly made your way towards him, taking a seat next to Wolf's body as soon as you did. Giving him a sad look, you ran a hand through the fur on his head. To your surprise, the dog leaned into your touch. And you smiled, too.

The boy's voice sounded from the stairs and you glanced to look at him. Your eyes settled on the bowl he held, steam coming from whatever was inside. You watched the butcher nod from the corner of your eye and the boy came down. He took slow, ginger steps towards you, soon reaching his arms out to you with the bowl, and your mouth nearly fell open at what was inside. It wasn't much, it was a simple mushroom stew. Nothing extraordinary or spectacular. But to you, it was a dish made for gods. All you had this whole time was a piece of bread. You were starving. 

You shakily took the bowl from him, then the wooden spoon the boy handed you right after and slowly, you put the spoonful of mushroom stew into your mouth. 

The taste soon turned bitter. It wasn't because of the food being bad, no. It was delicious. That was the problem. Taking the spoon out of your mouth, you sniffed, your hands beginning to tremble. You couldn't control it, no matter how hard you tried. Tears spilled from your eyes no matter how many times, how fast you blinked. Your shoulders shook. You swallowed the mushroom stew, then placed the bowl on the ground before you'd drop it. It was too good to be wasted like that. It was your first real food in this world. It was the best thing you've tasted in a while. Wiping at your eyes, you tried to get rid of the tears, but more came spilling out as soon as you did. 

Your vision was blurry, but you didn't need it to know that both the butcher and the boy were staring at you, one concerned and the other confused. You should stop. They didn't need to deal with you.

Exactly. They didn't need to give you this food. But they did. They were willing to take something of theirs and give it to a random stranger like you.

Yes, that's why you shouldn't cry like a baby. Neither of them are interested in your ugly sobbing. You've already been a handful.

But it's so hard to keep it in. You've been bottling it all up for so long. You might've cried before, but that was nowhere near what you felt really. You might've looked somewhat fine with all of this, after three awful days. But let's be honest, you were never fine with all of this. You never wanted any of this. You didn't know why you deserved this. You just wanted to go home. Was that so much to ask? This stew was the only home-y thing you've been given yet. Wolf was the closest thing you could compare to family. 

But you can't cry now. You look so ungrateful, crying over something they don't know anything about. Look at yourself, pathetic. Like a little kid, getting upset over something so trivial, making life harder for other people.

You snapped out of your thoughts, looking up in the eyes of the man. It took you a while to register the firm, but comforting hand on your shoulder. The butcher stared at you with a sorrowful expression, his son standing beside him, all cautiousness thrown out of the window as his mouth formed a frown. Then at Wolf, who you didn't notice glancing up at you, his eyes sincere and sad, worried.

You let it all out.


	11. Chapter 2 (?) - A River of Nostalgia

You looked down at your hands, shaking with excitement. A wide grin spread across your face as you examined the keys you held. You've been waiting for so long. And finally, you've made it. 

A firm, yet comforting hand was placed on your shoulder and you looked to the side. Someone who you didn't know stood beside you, a smile on their lips. One that you've seen so many times before. The one that you loved so much to see. 

"Well, what're ya waiting for?" She asked, playfully shaking you a bit. You laughed, looking back at the door you stood in front of. 

Inserting the key into the keyhole, you turned it. With that, the door creaked open, revealing the interior of a house. The house. 

It was quiet, empty. Particles of dust could be seen floating around in the only light there, the one coming from behind you, from the open door. The floorboards creaked with each step you took as you cautiously looked around, in awe. A sense of familiarity washed over you, nearly bringing tears to your eyes as you took a deep breath. Everything felt so peaceful. Undisturbed. It felt yours. 

"Man, this'll take a lot to clean up, won't it?" 

You heard the woman speak, causing you to turn to glance at her. She stood near a window covered up by curtains, opening those to let some more daylight in. Cobwebs were all around this place, now that you could see a tiny bit better. Snorting, you nodded.

"I like it, though," You whispered, a sentimental smile tugging at your lips.

She chuckled, looking at you, "Of course ya do," the woman made her way over to you, stopping to stand next to you, glancing around as well. She then put her arm around your shoulder, "I do, too."


	12. Introductions

You stirred a bit, your eyes slowly opening. It took you a moment to realize where you've found yourself, worry soon being replaced by relief as you glanced around your surroundings, your eyes settling on Wolf, who laid on the ground beside the seat you fell asleep on after your breakdown. He appeared to be asleep as well, looking much, much better than he did the day before. So, not wanting to disturb him, you carefully willed your body to sit up. Your whole body ached, but you didn't let that stop you. 

You felt... strangely empty. You didn't feel sad. But you also didn't feel happy. Just empty. Almost as if you've lost all your ability to feel anything at all. Glancing once more at your doggy friend, you sighed, closing your eyes. You didn't feel energized either. You still felt completely drained. But you didn't want to go back to sleep. For whatever reason, even that felt tiring, even if it should've been the opposite. 

Your eyes opened again, shifting to look at the door when it opened. Your fear spiked a bit again, only to lessen when you recognized the butcher standing in the doorway, clumsily holding a stack of books in one hand and in the other, the door handle. He looked at you, his eyebrows shooting up, probably because he didn't expect you to be awake. But then he simply stepped in, closing the door and heading straight for you. You watched him stop in front of you, then sitting down on the floor across from you, his legs crossed as he set all the books down. 

You stared in confusion, your eyes going back and forth from them and to the man. He simply picked one book up, opening it and listing through a few pages with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. From the corner of your eyes, you could see his son peeking out from over the railing of the staircase curiously.

For a second, the man just stared in silence at one page, before he looked up and around. He hummed in thought, looking over at the boy, saying something to him. The boy nodded, making his way upstairs, only to come back soon after, paper and pen in hand. He slowly made his way down the stairs, walking over to his father, then taking a seat next to him, looking over at the book. He seemed to ask him something, only to have his father point at you without a word, then take the pen and paper from him. He wrote something down, occasionally looking up at the book and then back down at the paper.

Then, he lifted the paper up, showing you. The writing was sloppy, as the butcher probably just tried to copy what he saw written on the page, but you could somewhat decipher what it said. Finally, letters and words you knew and understood.

"Hello"

Your eyes darted from the paper to the man, then back down as you continued to read,

"What your name?"

Your mind went blank at the question, for you didn't know. From the very beginning, you've wondered who you were. You had no memories. Maybe that weird vision or whatever that you experienced before, but that didn't tell you anything. And... maybe today's dream. Again, it didn't tell you anything though. 

You shook your head, shrugging. The butcher gave you a surprised look, while the son frowned, mumbling something only to have the butcher look at him with a scolding look. Then the butcher looked at the book again, putting the paper back on the ground and picking the pen up. He listed through the pages again, before writing something down,

"You not remember?"

You shook your head, your expression falling a bit. At that, the butcher frowned again, mumbling something as well.

"My name-" you paused, frowning at the next sequence of seemingly random scribbles and squiggles. The butcher looked at the boy, then his eyebrows shot up as he realized you couldn't read the letters. He stood up with a grunt, walking over to the seat and sitting down next to you, showing you the paper again. His finger then traced over the word you could not read, all the while looking at you,

"Ithem," he spoke, pronouncing it slowly. 

Your eyes traced over the word as well, slowly making sense of the letters, or, somewhat at least. 

"Ithem," you repeated after him, looking up at him. He grinned, then looked back down at the paper, writing something else.

He pointed at his son, then at the new word he wrote, "Aena,"

Ithem and Aena. Those were strange names for you, but you liked them. It was new. And now you at least knew what to call them. 

You flinched a bit when Ithem suddenly moved, but he only went to pick the rest of the books up, putting them on his lap. He looked over them, before shrugging, setting them aside though keeping the one book he's been listing through this whole time. 

"We should talk with librarian," he wrote, then added, "he know language."

Aena said something then, asking Ithem. Ithem looked at him, thinking for a second, before responding. With that, he stood up, glancing down at you.

For a second, you simply stared at him, before realizing and standing up too. You saw Wolf stir a bit, but otherwise, he kept still, asleep. You bit your lip, not wanting to leave him alone here. Ithem saw your worried expression, looking down at the book. He showed you a page, pointing at a word,

"Don't-"

Then listed through once more, searching for the next one, "-worry."


	13. A New Way

After the strange event of you and Ithem trying to communicate using broken English (on his part), he had led you through the whole village for what felt like hours, though it was probably just a couple of minutes, if not seconds. The reason for that is... you kept getting those hostile stares from everyone you passed. Farmers, other butchers, fishers, their wives, and even their children. It was honestly just making you lose hope about them keeping you here for long enough to at least collect some sort of resources that'd help you survive while you try and find a way out of this cursed world. Though one look at Ithem made your hopes go up again as you trailed behind him like a lost puppy, fiddling nervously with your damaged hands while you did so. 

Eventually, you've found yourself in front of a.... rather large house. Compared to all the other houses anyway. This one seems to be one of the more untouched houses as well. Ithem, without saying anything (as you probably wouldn't have understood it anyway), only went to walk over to the door, opening it, and peeking inside. You heard him say something, perhaps a greeting to whoever was inside and then stepped back out to look at you, gesturing inside. 

You clenched your jaw, feeling yourself get nervous as you took a step forward. So, this must've been the library. And the one inside must've been the librarian. And they knew your language. What would they say? Or, he, as Ithem said. Would he be just as against you being here as the others? Or would he understand in what predicament you're in, since he can speak your language even? 

Well, it was time to find out, wasn't it? 

So you entered the building, looking around for a bit. It was rather nice actually. It looked organized, the design rather symmetrical even, yet a bit strange even, with the stairs going up to some kind of a small balcony in the inside, that only led to a balcony on the inside. Perhaps it was just you never having been to the small, simple libraries from home, though. 

And, you looked to your left, seeing the lectern-looking thingy there, an elderly man standing in front of it and reading a book perched atop it. He was attired in white robes, a hat on his head that reminded you too closely of a book- it almost made you question if he actually had a book on his head, but you didn't do that- and a pair of glasses sat on his nose. His hair was mostly hidden by his hat, but you could see that it was all gray already. He was rather scrawny-looking, with a crooked nose, perhaps from a fight, or perhaps he just slipped on these cobblestone stairs here. 

The librarian looked at you then, and you felt his gaze burn through you as he took the time to scan over your features, which consisted of a nervous- you couldn't even call it a grin, really. It looked more so like a grimace. Then his gaze shifted to Ithem, who now made his way past you, standing just a foot or so further into the house than you dared right now.

You watched them exchange a few words of sorts, the conversations you couldn't understand always making you all jittery. What were they saying? Were they talking about you? Most likely! What about?

And then, you heard the librarian speak to you, with words you could understand,

"Traveller, I presume you've come from a long distance,"

You could not describe the amount of relief you felt at hearing something you could finally understand. To know that you can finally communicate with someone- normally- it was honestly about as much of bliss as eating that soup the other day. And you nodded profusely. Before you could get any words of your own out though, he spoke once again,

"You may not be the only one,"

You froze, your eyes widening. You may? Did he know you were not the only one, or was he just guessing? Were you the only one or not? You must've not been. How else would he even learn this language otherwise? Why else would they have whole English dictionaries? But that only meant.... what if you found the others? Were they friendly? Did this world already claim their lives? Or sanity, and now they'd be out for your blood if you ever crossed paths with them? Or perhaps they've already found their way out. Which would only mean that you do have a chance of escaping. 

It made your mind race with thoughts, and it made you ask a million questions. But you only watched as the librarian hummed in thought, turning the page of the book on the lectern, whilst Ithem stood off to the side patiently,

"Say, young one; do you remember anything of your life?"

....

That singlehandedly ruined your mood again. Not like it was any good from the start but... the reminder of your supposed amnesia did not help you in any kind of way. You wanted to find yourself and remember. But it was still unknown to you if that could be possible. Truthfully.... you have experienced some sort of Déjà vu's lately. But how could you be so sure that those weren't just strange dreams playing with your head? 

It made you somberly shake your head, sighing. It made you shift your eyes over to Ithem again, who gave you a thumbs up. If only he knew what you were talking about.

The librarian turned to you then, as though he wanted to say something more, only to pause, turning around to walk over to one of the bookshelves behind him, rummaging through the books he stored in there. You watched him in confusion as he searched. 

You froze though, feeling something brush against your leg. And you took a step back in alarm, looking down only to look into a pair of green eyes, staring right back into yours. Those eyes belonged to a cat it seemed, its fur flaming orange, white on its belly and its paws, as though it was wearing socks. It wandered off over to the librarian soon after though, who finally turned around, a leather-bound book in his hands, looking a bit too heavy for him even, though he seemed to be completely fine holding it. He went to walk over to the other lectern there, placing the large book down and opening its pages, listing through,

"Many have come here, traveler,"

So you weren't the only one! So- what happened to the others? That was currently the only question on your mind now, aside from how to get out of here. And the librarian must've read your mind, as he immediately went on to explain,

"Many, like you, did not remember anything about themselves. It was strange," he paused, taking the time to skim over the text of one page, before turning it, continuing on, "not everyone spoke the same language. None spoke ours. But every person had the same goal,"

He looked to you at that, as you listened intently,

"leave this world,"

Yes. Yes! Did he know how? Could you finally make it home, with his help? Would you be able to get home at last? No longer forced to endure all these insane scenarios and live in peace at last? In your excitement, you didn't even realize that you've taken several steps forward, eager to see whatever he's got in that book of his,

"Don't get so hasty, traveler,"

You paused, looking up at him,

"No one ever did,"

No... No, that couldn't be true. Someone had to leave. Anyone. Whoever. They had to make their way out. Right?......

"....Why?" You asked, your voice quiet, shaking. You stared at him, your heart pounding against your chest in fear as you waited for his reply. He only shook his head though, and he spoke in a whisper,

"Have you come across some things that you'd perhaps find unusual?"

You found it hard to nod, feeling as though your whole body was stiff.

There was the.... skeleton... and the drowned..... though pretty much everything about this world is unusual. Including the blue men, the golem, this whole village..... Wolf... But those would.... perhaps be the weirdest. Those were..... the undead. They were not supposed to exist. A golem is kind of like a robot. Those blue men could just be- some genetic failure or something. Wolf can just be an exceptionally smart dog. But the skeleton, the drowned and.... and the thing that exploded out of nowhere, if it wasn't a person that threw an explosive at you that is. But that you weren't quite sure about so.... just the skeleton and the drowned,

"Yes..... those could be you one day,"

...

As... you feared.

Of course.

They're all dead. And you.... will die too. Like all these other, unfortunate people that somehow appeared in this world. Everyone here died, never to see their family ever again. They died not knowing who they were. They died.... as merely a shell of who they were supposed to be. And now.... they were to die again, as monsters they unwillingly turned into, or.... they were to cause the same fate upon someone else. That someone else.... being you. 

You felt a hand on your shoulder as you stared at the floor, little spots of water falling upon it. Rain?... no. Of course not. Your tears.

"I said could, traveler," The librarian spoke again, looking over at your shaking form, and Ithem standing beside you now, though he looked rather confused, "I'm sorry for such a grim beginning, traveler. I only wanted to warn you. You may not make it out alive. But don't lose hope,"

You only sniffled, looking back up though you didn't see much, given that your vision was all blurry. You could only make out the librarian picking the book up again, on a particular page, and showing it to you. It forced you to wipe your tears away, and have your vision focus once more, your eyes landing on the page, consisting of the same writing you did not understand, and numerous illustrations around. One of which was..... a strange structure, perhaps. And.... what looked to be a large dragon, its scales black as the darkest night, its eyes the brightest purple you've ever seen. Was he showing you a fairy tale or something? Or.....?

"Traveller, this is your goal,"

What?

He pointed at the structure, "You have to find this. You'll find a portal there. The portal will bring you.... to the Enderdragon," his finger moved over to the one in question, the picture almost life-like. What business would you have with.... a creature such as this?

"You will have to end its life,"

"W-What?" You gasped out, your eyes widening as you took a step back in shock. End its life? You? It? Not only was the beast probably a lot bigger than you, but you also didn't even have a weapon, besides your trusty bow. And- how could you possibly bring yourself to.... kill?.......

You've done so already though, haven't you? One of the men, back there. At the tower. You've already killed. Killing this dragon.... can't be much different. You don't want to do it. But.... this world is all about that. To survive, you have to kill. To get out, you have to.... kill. You will have to end the Enderdragon's life. And impossible as that sounds to you.... you have nothing to lose anymore anyway. Only your life. That you've never known. Not... now anyway,

"Yes. You will have to end its life. The legend has it that once the Enderdragon dies, a portal to an unknown world will be summoned. Unknown to us.... known to you, traveler," The librarian fixed his glasses as he looked up at you again, "as I've said. No one has ever even come close to doing such a thing. But that does not mean that you will have to be one of them. All you need.... is a little hope. And a bit of help,"

You looked over at Ithem then. He had no idea what you were talking about. Not much of one anyway. Though he did seem to recognize what was in the book, as shown in his eyes; he was worried. But you knew he wanted you to return to wherever you came from. You could see it in his eyes too. He believed in you, despite the worry. 

You clenched your jaw, looking over at the librarian again,

"How do I find it?"

"You will need these," he flipped the page again, showing you another illustration. An... eye of sorts. A blue eye, with what looked like some sort of yellow powder sprinkled on it. Even as a drawing, it looked as though it was staring right into your soul, "You will need twelve of these. The Eyes of Ender. One of them will lead you to the ancient stronghold, in which you will find that portal. You'll have to insert all twelve into the slots of the portal,"

The Eyes of Ender. You'd have to get twelve of these? Or more, even? Where?

"These eyes, you will get from beings we call endermen. You will sometimes find that they appear at random, and disappear in the blink of an eye. They are tall, scrawny creatures. To get these eyes from them, you will have to end those too," 

Another kill or be killed..... you hated to hear this. But.... of course. Where else would you get eyes from?

"And the powder you see on them.... traveler, you will have to get that from a dimension we can The Nether. It's a hellish dimension. Full of fire and danger, you will have to be careful venturing in there. All you have to do is find a fortress, and its guardians, blazes. You'll know what to do once you find them,"

He shut the book then, going to hand it over to you. You carefully took it, staring down at it nervously,

"The Nether has been long abandoned. But there is a structure hidden around the world. Another portal. You will have to find that one as well. Perhaps rebuild it. Or simply... lit it aflame. The important thing is to find it, however,"

It made you look up again. So much information.... it was hard to remember it all. You were quite grateful for the book, that he was giving it to you. Even though you couldn't read what was written there, you'd at least be reminded by the pictures. But, how would you find this portal?

"How?"

The librarian hummed in response again, thinking the answer over, "Our cartographer has been all around the world now. He's found many structures on his travels. I believe he has a map that will lead you there,"

You perked up at that. That will make everything a few thousand times easier then. You looked to Ithem, in your excitement forgetting he could not understand you, "Where is he?"

Ithem only continued to stare in confusion, but luckily for you, the librarian took it upon himself to tell him about what you needed him to do. Lead you to the village's cartographer. And get him to give you the map to this Nether portal. Ithem nodded in understanding, his hand squeezing your shoulder a bit, as if reassuring you. He must've realized how nervous this was making you. Because you were nervous. All of this.... for someone like you. You'd have to do all of this. On your own.... almost. You.... still had Wolf. To help you,

"Ithem will lead you to him. And from then on...... you know your way," The librarian told you, going to put a hand on your shoulder as well, "Traveler... I believe your journey will be successful. But once more..... be careful," and you watched him smile, backing away. Before turning around to walk over to the lectern with the book he was reading before you came, "One more thing, traveler," 

He closed it, and you could see the one picture on the cover. The skeleton you saw back in the forest,

"This will help you avoid danger," he handed it to you too. It was a much thinner, smaller one. Almost like a journal, whereas the book you held currently was pretty much a whole encyclopedia. But... you guessed it was a bestiary of sorts, though still in a language you did not understand, "I'm sorry. I don't have a translation for it. But amongst the pages, I've left... a few notes you would probably like to read,"

You nodded, hugging both books close now,

"I wish you the best,"


	14. Getting There

The whole path to wherever the village's cartographer resided was spent by you simply staring down at the thick book you were given. All of it containing such important information.... behind a language barrier. The memory of the librarian's words as well as the pictures was hopefully enough to remind you what is needed to do, but it'd be nice if you really could read these strange writings.

Perhaps find what would await you upon entering these dimensions..... or about the dragon itself.

Perhaps it'd be a part of the notes the librarian left for you.

Or perhaps not... and you'd have to fend for yourself. 

Either way, you were determined to go through with it. Part of this path was also you convincing yourself that it was the only way out. And... it most likely was.

It was a life for a life type of deal. Except.... in such a way that it'd be a "one life taken for someone else's life to be continued" thing. 

You just had to hope that your life would be the latter and not the former. 

A light tap on your shoulder brought you out of your thoughts, and you looked up at Ithem who smiled, pointing forward and willing you to look in that direction, finding that you've arrived at your destination. 

The building from the outside looked like any other around this village. Beaten up, old... as though the only thing holding it together was just its sheer willpower to stay standing for whoever owned it. Moss and vines grew on its walls, the roof looked barely there, holes in it and such. You'd bet the cartographer really enjoys the rainy nights. 

Speaking off, on the door you stood in front of was a sign, words written on it in what to you looked like neat, fancy handwriting, though not like you could actually tell. You could only guess what it meant... but it wasn't hard.

You glanced at Ithem, who you've come to call your friend over the course of what- two days? that you've been with his family. And he gave you a nod, prompting you to open it.

And you did so, stepping in a little less nervously since your meeting with the librarian. The man was nice. So, you only assumed this one would be as well. 

You were only met with a nice green carpet as you stared down at the floor, smiling a little to yourself for not much of a reason. Then you glanced up, at the little table not too far away from the door, the man you were looking for sitting behind it, in the middle of drawing out another map from what you could tell. You always wondered how it worked. You had your guesses.... but you'd probably be very confused if you ever tried it for yourself. To map out everything accurately... not like those treasure maps you'd make as a child... it was probably hard.

Back out of your thoughts, you watched him do his job, Ithem entering silently from the corner of your eye, his footsteps and yours muffled by the carpet, though that didn't really stop you two from being noisy, as the door creaked upon being both opened and closed.

Still, the cartographer, a man probably around the librarian's age, kept his head down, concentrated on map-making. 

Now that you thought about it.... maps should probably be made at the spot you're mapping out, no? Ah, your lack of knowledge about this subject probably isn't important to think about. He probably had coordinates, or maybe he was just adding some details, or- again, not quite important. 

Maybe you weren't as calm about this as you thought..... your mind kept jumping to irrelevant things in an attempt to distract you from your worries.... fooling you quite well- but making you unfocused.   
But you could do this.... surely.

So, shaking your head, you gripped the two books in your hands a bit tighter to keep you grounded, and you watched as Ithem cleared his throat.

Only for the cartographer to not even react, making you frown. Was he deaf?-

But then he placed down his pencil and whatnot, raising his head to look at the two of you, tilting his head a bit when his eyes landed on you, before they averted to look at Ithem with a raised eyebrow, and the man spoke words you did not understand. Yet again. That was not new to you.

You only stood there sheepishly, shifting your weight from one foot to another repeatedly, awkwardly, as the two talked. Until you froze, seeing the cartographer look at you again and say a word you had no idea the meaning off. You could only stare at the guy in confusion, swallowing the hard lump that formed in your throat. Ithem jumped to your rescue though, speaking up again- hopefully telling him that you couldn't speak their language. It looked like it, as the cartographer no longer tried to communicate with you.

All you could do was watch as they spoke in gibberish, Ithem switching between multiple emotions throughout while the cartographer stayed the same, a blank, bored expression on his face. Seemed like some sort of trade was going on, the cartographer demanding a little more than Ithem deemed acceptable. But, in a moment of his frustration, you could see him glance to you. That was when you realized just how much your own emotions were showing, through your body language.

The tips of your feet were pointed towards each other shily, awkwardly. Your hand gripped at the elbow of your other arm, which hung limp by your side and your chin was pointed more down than up, eyes avoiding any sort of accidental eye contact with anyone there. 

You could see Ithem's expression soften then, which you weren't quite sure if it was a good thing or not. But, the older man had then looked back to the even older man with a sigh, reaching into his pocket and pulling out.... you gaped for a moment, your hand absentmindedly reaching into your own pocket. They paid with emeralds here.

The rustling of paper made you snap out of your thoughts again and you realized that Ithem was already standing in front of you, waving the paper in front of your face with a concerned expression on his own bearded one. And you shook your head to shake yourself further out of the depths of your mind, looking at the map held in front of you, taking it in your own hands.

Right.

Right.

You had no idea what you were looking at.

A map, duh. But how the hell does one navigate a map? Where were you even on the map right now? Ach, focus! There's a village drawn on it right there! That's where you must be. Can't even read a map....

The map was pretty big now that you noticed, you having to hold it up with both hands, arms nearly half-way outstretched on each side. Your face had went pale at what that could mean for you. Especially since you saw what must've been the portal sketched out at the very far edge of the paper, in what you could only assume was a swamp.

You couldn't resist the groan that escaped your lips, feeling Ithem give you a pat on the back and he started to turn away to walk out the door, you looking to the cartographer who had once more resumed his work, looking a bit less grumpy than when they arrived, probably happy with what he'd received from your friend. 

....

Thirteen emeralds, you counted in your mind, wincing.

As much as you hated to say that about your friend, he was definitely not the richest guy you've ever met- not that you met many in your short life that you remember. Not from what you could see, anyway. What you quickly started to call your temporary home was still very much the opposite of fancy.

You felt a pang of guilt. Ithem was willing to sacrifice precious money just to help someone he barely knew get home. Just to help you. You, who deserved it the least, last time you checked. You killed a man, after all. 

You couldn't tear your eyes away from his back as you followed him back outside, your hand still in your pocket feeling the one emerald you had inside.

And you paused, looking down at the dirt path you've been following, aside from your friend, the whole time, your eyes tracing over Ithem's much larger footprints. The aforementioned had seemed to notice the lack of secondary footsteps, as he glanced over his shoulder back at you with a concerned expression yet again.

You didn't deserve his concern. His worry. His help. Or his hospitability. He did not deserve having to deal with a nuisance like you. 

You pulled the precious gem out then, looking up at him but refusing to make eye contact as you reached out to him, offering it to him, he who looked as surprised as he looked touched by the act, turning to face you fully once more,

"It's the least I can do..." You mumbled, despite the language barrier. 

Yet, you felt like there was this understanding anyway. Something that was beyond words as you saw Ithem smile, a kind, caring smile that of a father looking down at the child he'd protect with his life, despite his aloof attitude on the usual occasion, and he shook his head, placing his larger hand over yours, the one that held the good, and push it gently back to you, before letting go then and turning to continue down the path.

And you stared after him even that time, with a bittersweet smile as well.

If only he knew how much you appreciated his undeserved help.

**Author's Note:**

> Currently unsure if this story will ever be finished. If it is liked by lots of people, then maybe I'll continue. Who knows?


End file.
